Machine for sewing hay.



110.834,36@ PATBNTB110cT.so,19o6.

' w. D1oHMANN.

MACHINE FOR SEWING HAY.

APPLICATION FILED In 1,1905.

2*-, I Il 'Wg u lli! Wit-Amm l Np. 834.369, V l PATENTBD 0013.0', 1906.

n l v w. 'DICHMANN- MAGHINBPOR SEWING HAY.

APPLIGATION FILED HAY 1,1905.

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No. 834,369. PATBNTBD 00L 3o, 1906.

W. DIGHMANN. MACHINE FOR SEWINGHAY.

APPLIOATIONIFILED HAY 1. 1905.

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PATBNTED 00T', so" W. DICH-MANN. MACHINE POR SEWING HAY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1,1905.

.- PATENTEDQGT. so, 1906.

w. DIGHMANN.

6 BHEETB-BHSET 6.

MACHINE PoR SEWING HAY.

AYPLIOATION FILED KAY 1,1906.

ml "DIM: rlruu co., wAsHmnroN, D, t.

Nwwmw-@ e UNITED sTATns PATENT OFFICE.

MACHINE FOR SEWING HAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented'oct. 30,1906.

Application filed May 1, 1905. Serial No. 258,375.

To all whom t mlty'concrn: s

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DIcIIMANN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oshkosh, in the'county of Winnebago and State of Wisconsin,have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Sewing Hay, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for sewing coarsefibrous material such, for instance, as hay, grasses, or the like. It isparticularly y'adapted for sewing strands of hay laid arallel to form acontinuous strip from w "ch pieces'may be cut,

- as in producing packing closures, such as bottlc-wrappers or thelike'.

It is vthe object of the invention to make it possible to feed hay orlike material into the machine spread comparatively evenly therein, sothat the machine may hold and feed the material automatically to thestitchingneedles, the ends of the wisps of hay being trimmed -to formthe strip of a given width.

It is also the object of the invention to provide a stitching meanswhich will bind the material 'lof which the strip is to be formed aboveand below, loopers and needles being employed and hooks for holding theloops of thread or cord or other material which may be employed forstitching the hay.

It is also a further object of the machine to provide a means whichshall automatically cut the strip after it has been stitched into vproper lengths for forming various articles.

v.is

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises certainnovel constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will behereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved hay-sewing machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.Fig. 3 is a vertical central longitudinal section through the sewingportion of the machine. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section throughthe upper portion of the machine, taken in front of the needle-operatingmechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view takenupon the line of theaXis ofthe chainactuating shaft located at one end ofthe machine,thesaid section being on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailview, partially in section and partially in elevation, showingthe'edge-trimming cutters. Fig. 7

' is an enlarged detail view showing in top plan the chain-actuatingsprocket mechanism and the cutting mechanism for severing portions ofthe stitched strip of hay.

The machine forming the subject-matter of the present invention isprovided with a suitable frame having supporting legs or standards 2near the ends thereof and atop or bed 3, over which the material travelsin being manipulated for forming a web or strip of fibrous material.Arranged transversely of the machine and near the central `part thereofis the main driving-shaft 5. This shaft is located below the bed 3 andsupported by suitable bars and bracing-pieces inthe frame. Theends ofthe shaft 5 project beyond the sides of the framing, and to one end ofthe said shaft are secured fast and loose pulleys 4 for receiving powerfrom any suitable sourceof energy to drive the machine. The shaft-5extends across the machine in such a position that it can be utilizedfor o erating the needles and loopers of the stitc ing mechanism, aswell as the loop-holdin hooks cooperating therewith. The sai shaft isalso providedwith means by which the feeding mechanism for carrying thematerial through the machine is operated in proper relation to themovements of the stitching mechanism. The shaft 5 carries an eccentric 6near one end, which is connected, by means of a pitman 7, with a rockinglever 8. The lever 8 is mounted at one end of a counter-shaft 9, whichis located near one'end of the machine and which is provided with thefeed-driving mechanism. It is desirable to impart an intermittentmovement to the materials fed through the machine, and the lever 8 istherefore extended beyond the shaft 9, 'so as to carry a pawl 11, whichengages the teeth of a ratchet-wheel 10. The said ratchet-wheel 10 isrigidly secured to the shaft 9, so that any impulse imparted theretowill actuate the feed mechanism. As shown in Fig. 5, the lever 3 may bea doublelever comprising a bar arranged on the opposite sides of theratchet 10 and connected at its ICO ends bycross or tiebolts. The lever8 is.

- chine a series of sprocket-wheels 14, which are rigidly secured uponthe shaft 9, so as to turn therewith. The up er stretches or laps of thechains extend a ong approximately even with the upper surface of theframe-bed 3 to the o posite end of the machine, where the said c ainsass around sprocket-wheels 16, secured to t e transverse shaft 17. The

chains thencepass downwardly beneath the operating mechanism mountedupon the central portion of the machine and back to the actuatingsprocket-wheels 14. The lower lap or stretch of each of the chains isengaged by a s rocket-wheel 18, which is carried on a shaft y an arm orframe 18a, pivoted to the under side of the frame. The weight of thesesprocket-wheels. and the arms which carry them act as tighteners for thechain and take up any slack therein automatically. The upper stretchesor laps of the chain travel upon longitudinally-arranged ways orsupports 19. The chains are thus prevented from sagging in theirposition for feeding and supporting the hay as itis carried to theneedles. At the front end of the machine a feed-plate 2() is provided,which is made of sufficient width to permit of the hay being laidthereon and spread out preparatory to pushing it upon the feed-chains15. This plate preferably extends above the sprocket- Wheel 16 at thefront end of the machine. The feeding of the chains accomplished by theaction of the pawl 11 in connection with the ratchet 10 issuch as tocause the material to travel from the feed-plate 20 toward and beneaththe stitching-needles at the center of the machine. As t e material zproaches the stitching-needles it is desirab e to hold the same more orless firmly upon the feedingchains, and for this purpose the material iscaused to pass beneath the arms or longitudinally-arranged bars 21having upturned ends.

These bars are preferably pivoted at 27 to an upper pressure-frame,which is arranged to the rear thereof. In this manner the front ends ofthe bars are free to rise and fall oftheir own weight in pressing uponthe fibrous material fed to the stitching mechanism.

To insure a proper holding of the fibers of the hay as the same arebeing stitched, I employ a pressure or tension frame, which extendsbeyond the stit ching-needles to the front and rear. This frame is madeup of longitudinally-arranged bars 22, preferably located directly abovethe outer feed-chains 15. Cross-bars 23 extend from one pressure-bar22to the other transversely of the machine and loosely engage verticalpins or studs 25. These studs or pins 25 are )rovided with heads attheir upper ends, an springs 26 are arranged upon the said pins or studsand shouldered against the heads 25, their lower ends bearing againstthe upper surfaces of the transverse bars 23. The whole frame thusformed is normally pressed downwardly by the action of the springs 26.The material as it approaches the frame is properly guided beneath thesame by the pivoted arms 2], heretofore described. In addition to theouter bars of the frame I also secure to the cross-bars 22 anintermediate pressure-bar 24',which is formed with an upturned end atthe front, so that the fibrous materials or hay will easily pass beneaththe saine. This intermediate pressure-bar 24u is preferably located inline with and directly above the intermediate feed-chain 15. By thismechanism it will be seen that the fibers or strands of hay which havebeen spread. upon the chains can be firmly held at their ends upon eachside of the machine when the stitching operation is performed.

About centrally ofthe machine is mounted the stitching mechanism, whichin order to properlydraw the threads or twine about the strands ofthe.hay is provided with needles and loopers and also with auxiliaryloop-holding mechanism. In stitching hay or fibrous material into acontinuous strip-such, for instance, as usual in forming wrappers forbottles or other articles-it is needful to have a plurality of stitcheslocated near the edges of the strip, and at intermediate points, ifdesired. For the sake of description and illustration I have shown themachine in the accompanying drawings provided with two sets of needlesarranged to stitch along adjacent to the outer edges of the completedweb.

Rising from the frame-bed 3 are side brackets 3, which are rigidlysecured and transversely arranged upon the cross-head 3b. Upon one faceof the cross-head 3b is secured guiding means for thevertically-operable needle-carrying bars 52. These needle-bars areconnected and reciprocated by a crosslhead 51, which is connected bymeans of a pitman 49, pivotally secured thereto by a pin 50, with awrist-pin 48 projecting from the disk 47. The disk 47 is actuated by ashaft 46, which is carried in suitable bearings upon the cross-plate 3b.The said shaft 46 is rocked by means of a slotted arm 41, which projectsfrom a second rock-shaft 40, also mounted in bearings upon thecrossplate 3b. The slot formed in the arm 41 is engaged by abearing-block 43, which is secured upon a wrist-pin 44, carried by anarm IOO iIO

. 45, which projects from the Shaft 4e. The

different radial movements of arm 41 and the arm 45 are thusaccommodated in imparting movementt from the shaft 40 to the shaft 46.

The shaft` 40 is rocked by means of an arm 39, which is connected by apitman 38 with the Wristfpin carried by the disk 37. The said disk 37 isrigidly secured to the actuatH ing-shaft 5. The radial distance of thewristpin on the disk 37 is smaller than the radial distance from thecenter of the shaft 40 to the end of the lever 39, and a completerotation of the disk 37 will thus operate to pro are loopers 60, whichare adj ustably secured to the upper ends of rocking arms by means ofadjustable clamps 61. The arms 55 are carried by sleeves pivotallymounted upon a shaft 56, which extends transversely of the machine andis supported in suitable stand.- ards rising from the frame thereof.Actuating-arms 55a project downwardly from the said sleeve and extend topoints in close proximity to the actuating-cams 54, which are rigidlycarried by the shaft 5. The arms 55a` carry antifriction-'rollers whichrun upon the peripheries of the cams 54. The arms 55ab are held againstthe said cams by springs 59. The cams 54 are provided with depressedportions at one point in their peripheries, into which the rollers ofthe arms 55a drop for carrying the loopers forward to catch the loops ofthe needles. The continued rotation of the cams cause the retracting ofthe needles at the proper time.

Coperating with the loopers are hooks 64, which are carried by the outerfree ends of arms 70, which are rigidly secured to the shafts 68. Theshafts 68 are mounted at their ends in brackets which rise from theframe, and the said shafts are preferably so tween the peripherypfthecam at a short distance from the center of movement and a portion of thecam which is at a greater radial distance from the center of movement.As each cam 65 rotates, the rollers 66 gradually descend into the recess75 and will be bearings in the outer ends of the arms 70,

land each of said hooks is provided with a crank-arm 71, which isprovided. with a wrist-pin 72, extending therefrom, andengaging aslotted projection 73, which extends downwardly from the framing. The

wrist-pin 72 may be provided witn antifriction-rollers 72a for engagingthe bifurcated extensions 73. Since the crank 71 is rigidly secured tothe shank of the hook 64 and since the wrist-pin 72 engages the xedbifurcated projection, it will be evident that a rocking movement givento the arm will cause the hook to be turned over or rotated about itslongitudinal axis. In this manner the nook may be thrown into the loopformed by the looper and temporarily hold it,sai.d hook releasing theloop after the stitch is completed. Before the material which has passedto the stitching mechanism reaches it it is trimmed to a given length,and for this purpose I employ rotary cutters 35 and 36, there being apair of said cutters upon each side of the machine, as clearly shown inFig. 6. The cutters 35 are rigidly mounted upon a shaft 30, whichextends across thel framing of the machine, and one end of said shaft is.provided with a sprocket-wheel 29, which is connected by asprocket-chain 31 with a sprocket-wheel 28 on the shaft 5. The shaft 30is thus rotated in conjunction with the operation of the shaft 5. Thecutters 36 are carried by a shaft 34, parallel with the shaft 30 andpreferably mounted directly beneath it, and motion is transmitted fromthe shaft 30 to a shaft 34 by intermeshing gears 32 and 33, secured tothe ends of said shafts. Thecutters 35 and 36 are oppositely beveled,their cutting edges being brought together to ake a shearing cut, asclearly illustrated in ig. 6. preferably notched, as' shown in Fig. 3,which notching of the cutters is found to assist in the drawing forwardand feeding of the niaterial past the cutters.

At the end of the machine a cutting mechanism of a different type isemployed and which iscapable of cutting off the stitched material ingiven lengths. This end cutting mechanism comprises a shaft 80, mountedin journals at the end ofthe machine and carrying cutter-heads joined bya cutting-knife 77. This knife 77 operates in conjunction with a fixedknife 76,' which is secured to the end rail of the frame. The knife 77is rotated by means of gears 78 and 79, which intermesh, one of saidgears 78 being rigidly fastened to the shaft 9, while the other gear 79is rigidly secured to the shaft 80. The knife 77 is thus intermittentlyrotated by the action of the shaft 9, which is operated by the ratchet10.

The knife 77 is held in its fixed position byclamping-screws 77a. Byloosening these IOO These cutters35 and 36 are also IIO screws andturning said screws 77b the knife may be accurately adjusted to make ashear cut in conjunction with the knife 7 6. Althrough the knife 77 iscarried in an arc of small diameter, it is only operated by anintermittent movement received from the shaft 9, and thus the piece ofstitched material which is cut off will be amply long for formingbottle-wrappers or other desired articles.

In the operation of the machine the hay, straw, grass, or other fibrousmaterial is spread upon the belt 20 so that the strands thereof extendtransversely of the machine, and the material is then pushed from thebelt upon the chains 15. 'lhe material will be carried beneath themovable ends of the bars 21 and then beneath the pressureframe formed bythe bars 22. The material will first encounter the trimming-knives 35and 36, which being connected with the shaft 5 are continuously rotated,trimming the fibers to a proper length before they are passed to thestitching mechanism. After passing the knives the fibrous material iscarried to the needles for forming stitches near each edge of the lineof fibrous material. The needles 53 are supplied with yarn or cord 62a,which is lead from a bobbin 62, mounted upon the upper edge of thecross-plate 3b, the strands of thread, yarn, or cord being carriedupwardly from the bobbins to the guides 62h and thence downwardlythrough guides 52at carried by the needle-bars, and thence throughguideeyes 52h, secured to the face of the crossplate 3b. The material isthen lead to the closed eyes of the needles 53. The loopers are suppliedwith thread or cord from bobbins 63, mounted upon the lower portion ofthe frame, the said thread or cord being lead upwardly and throughapertures formed in the frame and thence to the loopers. Any desiredtension mechanism may be used for controlling the feed of the threads orcords to the stitching mechanism. As the material passes between theneedles and loopers the needles move downwardly through the grass orfiber, carrying a loop of cord with them. The needles to reach theirlowest points are slightly raised again through the action of the disk47, which carries the wrist pin 48 slightly beyond the lower dead-centerof its movement. This causes the formation of a more permanent loopbeneath the grass or hay and insures the engaging of said loops by theloopers. At this time the cams 54 operate to throw the loopers 60upwardly and through the loops formed by the needles. The points of theloopers 60 are preferably slightly bent downwardly, as shown in Fig. 3,so that the loops of the needles will be held by the loopers while theneedles are being raised. The loopers in passing through the loops carrya loop of the lower cord with them and hold them in position to beengaged by the rocking hooks 64. The relative positions of the cams and54 are such that the hooks will at this time be thrown downwardly intothe loops which were brought in by the loopers. After the hooks haveengaged the low'er loops the loopers quickly return to their outermostpositions, and at the same time the upper needles descend again, pullingthe upper thread through the tension mechanism suiiciently to permit ofthe upper loop being extended far enough to form the proper stitch,after which the needle returns. The hook 64 retains the lower loop untilthe needle descends through the lower loop, after which theliook isrocked, quickly releasing the loop. The operation is repeated for eachstitch. The machine is generally used in sewing marsh-hay intopacking-strips in two or more series of lock chain-stitches. In sewingsuch coarse material as hay or the like it is desirable te use acomparatively coarse thread or cord, and the action of the needles andloopers, together with the liolding-hook, is such as to be admirablyadapted for using such kinds of coarse material. The machine is positivein its action, and the securing of the cams and the otherneedle-operating mechanism to a single driving-shaft makes it possibleto exactly and accurately time the movement of the needles and loopersand the hooks with respect to each other. The strips of packing materialcan be in any suitable lengths (the trimming-knives to be set the properdistance apart to cut the material in the length desired) for packingvarious articles-such, for instance, as bottles or similar closures. Ofcourse it will be understood that the machine can be employed forstitching other articles, as desired.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, ish

1. A machine of the class described, comprising a stitching mechanism,endless means for carrying fibers arranged in approximately parallelarrangement, means for exerting a pressure upon the said fibrousmaterial, pivoted guide means for leading the material beneath thepressure means and means for giving the feeding mechanism anintermittent movement.

2. A iibrous-material-stitching machine comprising a longitudinalsupporting-frame, an endless traveling conveyer moving therewith, aspring-pressed frame arranged above said conveyer for pressing thematerial against it, stitching-needles mounted above the said conveyer,thread-loopers arranged below the conveyer and adjacent to the pointsoccupied by the needles when lowered, and rocking hooks operating inconjunction with the loopers.

3. A machine for stitching fibrous material, comprising traveling meansfor carrying the material, stitching-needles operating above theconveyer so as to engage the IOO lIO

i fibrous material as it is fed to the stitching mechanism, loopersbelow the said needles, a rock-shaft for actuating the loopers,loop-holding hooks cooperating with the loopers, rock-shafts forcarrying the hooks, and a common shaft provided with means for operatingall of said rock-shafts in proper timedrelation to each other.

4. A machine for stitching fibrous material, comprising means forcarrying the material to the stitching mechanism, guiding and pressingdevices mounted above the same stitching-needles arranged to engage thematerial, loopers for engaging the thread carried by the needles, armscarrying said loopers, rock-shafts carrying the arms, cams for actuatingthe loopers in proper relation to the movement of the stitching-needlesand loop-holding hooks cooperating with the loopers.

5. A machine for stitching fibrous material, comprising a travelingconveyer, stitching-needles capable of engaging the material, loopers,loop-holdinghooks, rock-shafts carrying the loopers and the hooks, camsfor operating the looper rock-shaft and the shafts of the hooks inproper timed relation, and acommon rock-shaft carryingthe said cams.

6. A mechanism for stitching fibers into a continuous strip comprising asupportingframe, a traveling conveyer moving over the same, a pluralityof stitching-needles mounted above the conveyer, a plurality ofoscillating loopers arranged below the conveyer, rocking hooks operatingadjacent to the loopers and in conjunction therewith, and fixed meansfor causing the rocking of the hooks when the said hooks are movedbodily from side to side.

7. A fibrous stitching machine for formin elongated strips comprising asupportingframe, longitudinally-traveling endless conveyers forcarrying'thefibrous materialover the frame, reciprocating needlesmounted above the conveyer, loopers mounted below the conveyer, rockinghooks also mounted below the conveyer and having arms projectingtherefrom, n xed means engaging said arms, and movable means carryingthe needles, said fixed means causing the rocking of the hooks when thesaid movable means is operated.

8. A wrapper-stitching mechanism, com- 'prising a frame, a feedingmechanism mounted thereon, a stitching mechanism and a pressure-framemounted above the feeding mechanism comprising longitudinal bars, andcross connecting-bars, springs engaging the cross-bars for forcing theframe downwardly with a'yielding pressure, pins carrying the saidsprings and having heads as a bearing j therefor.

9. A mechanism of the class described, comprising `a frame, an endlessconveyer traveling over the bed-plate of said frame, a pressure-framearranged above the conveyer having pivoted receiving'endportions, andspring-actuated means for forcing the frame downwardly upon materialcarried by the conveyer.

10.,A machine for stitching fibrous material into strips comprising anelongated traveling conveyer, a needle stitching mech-` anism mountedabove the same, oscillating loopers mounted below the same andcooperating with the stitching mechanism, oscillating arms moving atright angles to the oscillating loopers, rocking shafts carried in thefree ends of said arms and having thread-engaging hooks at their ends,arms projecting from said rock device, and fixed guides engaging saidarms and causing the rocking of the said rock device when theoscillating arms are moved from side to side.

11. A machine for stitching fibrous material into strips, comprising aframe having longitudinally-arranged supporting-bars, endless chainstraveling over and resting upon the said su porting-bars, sprocketwheelssupporting tlie said chains, a ratchet mechanism for driving the chainswith an intermittent feed, -an assembling-plate upon which the fibrousmaterial may be arranged preparatory to pushing it upon the travelingchains, a pressure-frame arranged to engage the fibrous material uponthe to and a stitching mechanism for stitching tfie material into astrip, springs engaging the frame at suitable points for exerting ayielding on the same, the, pressure-frame olding t e material properlywhile the stitching mechanism is operating upon it. 12. A machine forstitching fibrous material, comprising a traveling conveyer,reciprocating stitching-needles, rocking loopers, a rock-shaft carrryingsaid loopers, loo -hold- IOO ing hooks having cranks formed t ereon,

engaging said arms and rocking the hooks and a rotating shaft foractuating all of the said cams.

14. A machine for producing packing material from fibrous hay or thelike, comprising a traveling conveyer for feeding the material to themachine, a stitching mechanism, means for moving the materialintermittently being needles, a, crank-arm formed upon thel tween thestitches, a rotating cutter means for connecting the said cutter withthe intermittent feed-actuating mechanism, comprising gearing and meansfor actuating the stitching mechanism in correspondence with the feed ofthe conveyer.

15. A machine for producing packingstrips from iibrous materialcomprising a conveyer, a stitching mechanism, reciprocating needles, arock-shaft for operating the needles, a crank-arm for actuating therockshaft, a rock-lever having a movable engagement with the crank-arm,a pitman for rocking the said rock-lever, a disk connected withhekpitman, and a shaft for actuating the said 16. A machine forproducing a web of fibrous packing material, comprising a feedingmechanism, a stitching mechanism made up of reciprocating needles,rocking needles, rocking hooks mounted adjacent to the rocksaid rockinghooks, fixed guides engaging the said crank-arms, arms for moving thehooks with respect to the said guides and producing their rockingaction, and cams for rocking the said arms.

17. A machine for stitchingy fibrous packing-strips, comprising a frame,a traveling conveyer and an elongated pressure-frame engaging thematerial, stitching-needles engaging the material, loopers operatingbeneath the upper portion of the conveyer for forming loops, arock-shaft having laterallyprojecting arms for carrying the saidloopers, the loop-holding hooks having crank-shaped end portions, armscarrying said hooks, guides engaging the crank-sha ed end portions andcausing the turning o the hooks as they are carried back and forth bythe said arms, rock-shafts carrying the said arms and cams for rockingthe said shafts and causing a proper timed operation of parts withrespect to each other.

18. A mechanism Jfor stitching fibrous material, comprising feedingmeans, stitching means made up of upper reciprocating needles, lowerbent looping-needles, rocking arms carrying the looping-needles, camshaving depressed portions in their peripheries for rocking said arms,means for holding the arms against the said cams, rocking hookscooperating with the looping-needles, arms for rocking said hooks,cam-engaging arms connected with said rocking arms, cams for engagingthe actuating-arms, said cams having depressed portions in theirperipheries, means for holding the actuating-arms in engagement with thesaid cams and a common actuating-shaft carrying the said cams.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM DICHMANN.

Witnesses:

W. H. WYMAN, A. R. WATERHoUsE.

